The missing piece: Connecting school work to STEM careers

Just for a moment, think back to the days when you were in middle school. Chances are, at some point you asked your teacher, "WHY do we have to study this stuff?" or "When will I ever USE this stuff?" Students are still asking those questions today, but there is a huge difference in the answers teachers might provide. How can teachers and guidance counselors keep up with the rapidly changing careers of the 21st century? More importantly, if we consider the growing shortage of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates, how can corporations provide schools with current information about STEM careers? What is the corporate role in priming the STEM "pump"?

SAS took on this challenge recently by partnering with Reedy Creek Middle School to launch the first SAS STEM Career Day. By all accounts, this event stimulated interest in STEM, helped students think more broadly about their career goals and engaged students in activities that helped them see the relevance of what they do in school every day.

Before the event, students watched a video, "The Choice is Yours." In the video, SAS computer programmers, engineers and statisticians enthusiastically describe their careers, reminisce about their favorite high school courses and talk about how their schooling prepared them for the work they do. The video generated rich classroom conversations, and when SAS volunteers arrived at the school later, students were already curious. Volunteers taught lessons that made the school-to-STEM career connection even more directly. They showed how computer programming provides the foundation for every product that comes from SAS.

Based on the difference in the pre- and post-surveys, students not only learned about current STEM careers, but they really connected with the enthusiastic SAS volunteers who delivered the lessons. Students were asked if they felt school would prepare them for a STEM career. In the pre-survey, only 56 percent said “yes.” In the post-survey, it was 84 percent. They now know real-life STEM role models, and see more relevance in what they do in school every day.

We believe this event was well worth the time and effort involved. Our return on investment will emerge as more students see the relevance of computer science specifically and STEM, in general. This kind of activity could provide a valid role for any corporation wishing to increase the number of STEM graduates who will fuel a stronger economy for a better tomorrow. And yes, that is a challenge.